A New Divide
by Levity Lirum
Summary: Harry's conditioning to protect even at the cost of his own life went a bit far, as Dumbledore learnt on the platform. Now Harry, at least, has a new life as...a Decepticon's Seeklet? Uh-oh. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I only own Updraft, Tailspin and Nosedive. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.**

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1: Murphy laughs at your so-called 'Perfect Plans".

**Author Unknown.**

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Harry Potter was only vaguely aware of what was happening, caught between waking and sleeping as he was.

He got the impression of _size_ from the person who was holding him so gently in their giant armour-clad arms; _comfort_ from the deep, crooning, oddly metallic voice; _love/sorrow _from the round red eyes that glowed at him from the darkness above him.

The world as cold outside the arms that held him, and he could see stars behind the person's silhouette spiked helmet and what might have been wings.

Harry wondered if he should have been afraid of this dark, red-eyed giant, but all he could bring himself to feel was comfort and total adoration as he reached his hands up towards the person's face, an odd, purring gurgle somewhere in his throat.

'_My Most Beautiful Little One.' _The person crooned to him, voice sounding like recordings of the same voice saying the same thing being played at the same time. The voice was rough and oddly gentle. '_My Precious Seeklet. My Little Skyshadow.'_

Harry wondered how this person knew he played Seeker in Quidditch, then remembered he was famous.

One of the person's fingers brushed against his face, a distinctly hooked claw attached to the end of the gauntlet.

Harry yawned and the person crooned again, the sound vibrating in the large metal chest plate that radiated warmth. When he listened, Harry could hear a low humming sound that throbbed a little faster than a heartbeat.

Surrounded by comfort, Harry went to sleep.

(**space)**

As time passed, Harry had since realised that he was not human; that he had died and had been on a train platform talking to Dumbledore when a voice had wailed with such grief that Harry had had to try to comfort them.

He had found a small orb of blue light, he remembered. He had picked up the flickering light and held it to his chest to protect it. The flickering orb had sunk into his chest and something had pulled him into a dark place with stars. Moving his suddenly heavy form in confusion, the wailing had cut off to be replaced by the crooning sobs of his Carrier as the Seeker's stillborn Sparkling came to life.

Harry, or rather Skyshadow, was hidden part of the time in the vent shaft attached to his Carrier's berth-chamber, which was shared with two other Seekers in rotation. The vent shaft was cosy for something the size of a teenager with wings, but not nearly as small as the cupboard under the stairs had been to eleven-year-old Harry. The small area had been padded with surprisingly soft metals for him to 'recharge' on.

Still, the little wizard-turned-Seeklet particularly enjoyed it when his Carrier, Updraft, would take him on patrol with him, securely hidden in what Harry thought might have originally been the birth-chamber but connected to his Carrier's senses through a small cable.

Harry did so want to learn how to fly with his wings.

He supposed that his easy acceptance of the situation and only a vague recollection of his past life were due to his young age. Updraft often complimented him on being such an intelligent Seeklet, but that could have been just parental pride talking.

Skyshadow, as Harry had pretty much resigned himself to being, was black with brilliant emerald-green panelling, impressive spikes on his helm, pauldrons and hips, hooked digits, large red optics and, for his size, humongous wings. Updraft assured him that his slender, gargoyle-like frame would broaden and fill-out as he went through the second of his five Youngling stages, which he wouldn't reach for at least a vorn, depending on how much energon and metal scraps Updraft could sneak him.

The first thing Harry had learnt was that no one other than Updraft could know he existed until they rejoined the Winglord and Air Commander, Starscream. Starscream would be able to protect them from the grounders, but until then, Skyshadow had to remain a secret to even the other Seekers.

The Sparkling didn't know why, but he assumed that he would be told when he got older.

Until then, Harry would bask in the knowledge that he had a parent who loved him.

**(space)**

Ten Earth Years Later...

It was a long time before the Winglord called the Decepticons to a small, vaguely familiar solar system.

Updraft had been transferred to three different outposts since Skyshadow's birth. During the course of the second move, Updraft's Trinemates, Tailspin and Nosedive, had accidently found out about the little Seeklet and had been equal parts exited and terrified.

It was during the following conversation about ways to keep the Seeklet a secret that Skyshadow first learnt his Co-Creator's name.

Skywarp.

Skyshadow had learnt all about Skywarp and the rest of the Command Trine from listening in on the other Decepticon's conversations. Skywarp was very like how he thought Harry's Co-Creator had been, but slightly stupider. The Seeker was also known for being able to teleport, a rare gift Updraft was hoping had passed onto Skyshadow.

Updraft was, oddly enough, dark green and red, reminding the Harry part of Skyshadow of his human Carrier, Lily. It gave the little Seeklet a strong sense of déjà vu.

Now that he was able to interact with more Decepticons than just Updraft, Skyshadow found that Updraft was a very intelligent, mild-mannered (for a Seeker) mech who had been a scientist who had worked with Starscream before the war.

Tailspin was the youngest aside from the Sparkling, only just an adult when things went pear-shaped on Cybertron. He reminded Skyshadow of a little human femme with red hair and a denta-baring grin whose name he could no longer remember.

Nosedive was the Trineleader, and big for a Seeker. He was big, sturdy and aggressive, ready to fight denta and claw for his Trine and model-type. He had followed the Decepticons because his Winglord had, just like most of the other Seekers.

Skyshadow was almost sure that tall mech with the vectors from the second outpost had known he was there, but hadn't said anything. For some reason, the little Seeklet got the strong impression of _sameness_ from the mech. His name was Sound-something.

But now they were approaching the fourth planet in the solar system, Skyshadow securely curled up in the _Velha_ Chamber, which was a purely Seeker space functioning as both incubator and marsupial-like pouch.

The Nemesis, the large ship that functioned as a mobile Home Base to the Decepticons not stationed on Cybertron, was anchored in a large crater on the small red planet, covered by the brick-coloured silt.

Skyshadow was nervous and excited. He would not only be meeting his Co-Creator, but also Winglord Starscream!

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Press the prettiful button. PRESS! You know you want to...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: ****I only own Updraft, Tailspin and Nosedive. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.**

AN: This takes place after ROTF, so Skyshadow is roughly 15 or so in human years, so he's equivilent is that of a three-month-old, but a lot smarter. His memories have faded since he had no 'brain' to transfer them from, only soul imprints that give him vague impressions. Similarly, magic doesn't translate completely into an entirely different, non-biological entity from an entirely different planet way over thats way, so it has had to improvise. Yes, the magic world will exist, but, after Harry died with the last of the Horcruxes, Neville, in an act of bravery, finished the snake off.

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2: I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they terrify me.  
**Duke of Wellington**

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Updraft was really very intelligent.

Skywarp was kind-of...not.

The green and red Seeker admitted that he had always coveted the warp-drive that Skywarp had, so when he unexpectedly went into a gestation cycle (despite the fact that it was supposed to have been offline), his processors immediately bumped the teleporter to the top of the potential mates list, followed by Airbender (a weaker teleporter who could only go a third the distance Skywarp could) and Spacetwister (whom Updraft really could not stand). Updraft was lucky enough that the Command Trine was passing through the outpost at the time and the teleporter got overenergized.

Words could not describe how Updraft wanted his Seeklet to have the warp-drive. He had just hoped his intelligence countermanded Skywarp's in the Seeklet.

And it did. Thank Primus.

He was very careful not to let on that he was carrying, and when the time came to give birth, he volunteered to take Nosedive's patrol in a low danger area.

Then his world came crashing down as the small, weak Spark flickered out as the little one detached.

Updraft had _screamed_ as the Carrier-bond snapped, his Spark helplessly groping for the Little One.

Then something had responded.

It was ancient and somehow felt like Carrier-Yet-Not. It shimmered with power and reached out to grab the flailing bond, dragging it deeper into Not-Space.

Then the bond was attached to a powerfully familiar Newspark.

The Seeklet began moving in Updraft's servos.

Skyshadow would be a dangerous and powerful and attractive mech when grown; fast and furious and a mind as sharp as a blade of wind, but never would he be as large as either Skywarp or Updraft.

He just hadn't gotten enough energon or minerals while in the _Velha_ Chamber.

The little black and green Seeklet was, by appearances, a good mesh of his Creators. Updraft was delighted when he had found the beginnings of a warp-drive, though the sheer flexability of the little one's wings were something he hadn't seen since he, himself, was a Seeklet being introduced to Winglord Stormsworder a very long time ago.

Still, devoted Carrier or no, Updraft found his Little One to be almost frighteningly intelligent. He learnt things on his first or second try and he knew when to be quiet and when he could warble and babble at his parent.

He had initially been worried the Seeklet would make noise when he was in the vent chamber, but the Seeklet was very well behaved, especially given who his Co-Creator was.

Updraft had nearly stalled when, during an Autobot attack while they were being transferred, the false armour that hid the _Velha_ Chamber was torn off.

The surprised Autobot had barely had time to realise what the oddly-shaped formation on the Seeker was before Seeker Core Programming had caused Updraft's Trinemates to literally tear the grounder limb from limb, stamping on the Spark casing and drop-kicking the head through the battlefield.

Nosedive and Tailspin had pretty much won that skirmish single-handedly.

It was around then that Updraft suspected that Lt Commander Soundwave figured it out.

Updraft had felt nothing for the logical, unemotional Communications Officer, so when the mech began sending the Casseticon Ravage with a container of Sparkling Grade energon and fine metal shavings every decaorn, Updraft was equal parts surprised and terrified until the larger 'Con had called him into his communications room to see if there was anything the Seeklet needed.

Soundwave had assured Updraft that only himself and Ravage were aware of Skyshadow and if he needed repairs, Updraft could bring him to Soundwave.

That had been one of the most plate-raising conversations of his life.

Updraft's Trinemates, however, had been very unamused that he had hidden the cute little winglet from even them, but had accepted his reasoning. They didn't like it, but they understood.

At the start of the war, Megatron had made it a law that no Sparkling could be onlined or birthed until they had won. Any Sparkling found would result in the offlining of both the Carrier and the Sparkling. Skyshadow's existence was putting them both in danger should a grounder find out...

And grounders did not like Seekers.

Which was why Soundwave knowing was scaring the Pit out of the Trine.

But Starscream and the Command Trine would protect them, would keep the Seeklet a secret, because no one would protect a Seeker but another Seeker, and Seeklets were precious. Seekers were too violent, too strong, too wild, too built for fighting to be accepted by any other model but Sparked Warriors. And Sparked Warriors were too violent to be particularly trusted or liked by other grounders anyway.

Problem was, most of the Sparked Warriors had followed Prime and offlined in the first few vorns of war.

Nosedive had once been Sparkbound to a Sparked Warrior who had followed Prime(If anybot knew who, they weren't saying), and Sparked a Trine of Seeklets to him. Updraft never asked what happened to them. Still, the Trineleader had been invaluable with looking after and properly teaching the Sparkling, a solid, knowledgeable rock for Updraft to turn to.

Tailspin had thrown himself into renewed training so he could properly protect the little winglet, surprising the few other Seekers with his tenacity and focused determination. Already having a strong, aggressive character, his skills rocketed up to match his personality, becoming a rare free-response unit, supplementing his combat skills with medical knowledge, communications skills, sabotage and other random but useful bits and bobs of information and upgrades.

The senior Seeker on base, a crotchety old jet called Sideswiper (not to be confused with the Autobot frontliner Sideswipe (though there were rumours that the Autobot was the great-grandsparkling of the old jet)), had reamed the younger mech up one side and down the other for not applying himself to his fight training earlier in the war.

Updraft was very glad they hadn't been angry at him. He already knew Starscream was going to punish him badly for getting Sparked.

The group of seven Decepticon Seekers approached the Nemesis ahead of what other bots could be spared from the outpost without leaving it a skeleton crew.

Nosedive's Trine was well aware that the other Seekers had caught on that something was happening with Updraft, but had known better than to say anything, preferring to fly in a seemingly random, unconcerned formation with the red and green Seeker in the middle.

Sideswiper had been casting increasingly protective glances Updraft's way since they were stationed together at the second outpost, so they assumed the old mech had a very strong idea as to what was going on.

**(space)**

The red planet was probably originally organic in nature, but the lack of atmosphere that wiped out any life on it was probably attributed to a comet or meteor hitting it and altering the planet's trajectory.

The Nemesis sat in a large crater towards the bottom of the planet, covered in the red dust as camouflage.

As soon as the Seekers flew into the hanger, the Seekers already stationed there took notice of the formation, so it could be expected that every Seeker on the ship would know within a breem that something was up. The Nosedive Trine probably wouldn't even have time to finish reporting for duty and rostering before being summoned by the Air Commander.

Sideswiper hovered in the back of the room rather than leave as soon as he was registered by the computer like he usually did, waiting until the three Trinemates were done and took point, Nosedive moving to walk on the left of Updraft, closer to the _Velha_ Chamber to better protect it, and Tailspin guarding the rear.

It was immediately noticeable, upon entering the hanger, that to number of Seekers 'doing something productive' had almost tripled, fugitively casting glances in the general direction of them. The other three transferred Seekers were already dragged into hurriedly whispered conversations.

Command Trinemember Thundercracker was already standing by the doors that led to the Seekers' living areas, completely separated from the grounders' areas as groups of Seekers generated a flock mentality that left them strongly aware of flock hierarchy and territory.

The impressive blue mech met Sideswiper's optics and glanced at Updraft.

:Starscream wants the four of you in his quarters immediately.:

:Acknowledged.: Sideswiper agreed, already leading the three younger jets towards the door beside the mech.

Thundercracker kept an optic on them, but didn't make to follow as they passed him.

As the four continued down the wide corridor to the Winglord's quarters, Updraft's anxiety was heightened by the excited shifting of Skyshadow in his chassis.

Updraf was so highly strung that his wings flicked in surprise when Sideswiper pressed the buzzer.

:Enter.: Starscream's powerful voice came across the close-range open frequency.

With an almost nervous glance at the highly-strung mechs behind him, Sideswiper opened the door.

**(space)**

For what it was, Starscream could admit that he had a soft spot for Updraft.

He had known the other Seeker since he was a Sparkling, and could remember the Youngling-Updraft tossing him in the air as he warbled happily. Starscream's Carrier, Nightscream, had been Trinemates with Updraft's Carrier, Shadowflight, so they had practically grown up together.

At one point, Starscream had even thought himself in love with the mech, but that had died quickly when Updraft had introduced the intern scientist Starscream to the shuttle scientist Skyfire.

When Skyfire went missing-presumed-dead, Updraft had been there for him, so when the war started, Starscream assigned the red and green Seeker to low danger areas to keep him as safe as possible.

_(He would deny, deny, deny if anybot brought it up with him.)_

So when Thundercracker had sent along that the transfer Seekers from the energon mine outpost in Sector 1462V were using an outdated formation used to protect one particular Seeker around Updraft, Starscream felt a stab of fearful worry, quickly buried below the cynical viciousness he had cultured since becoming Winglord.

Lounging in what was, hopefully, a relaxed manner in his chair, Starscream pondered what could have been so important that Updraft be at the centre of the formation.

He didn't notice the odd looks Skywarp was giving him and his oddly twitchy wings.

When the Seekers entered the room, the first thing, Starscream noticed was that Updraft's Trinemates, a big, dependable Seeker called Nosedive and a smaller, faster Seeker called Tailspin, were in a vaguely familiar bodyguard formation around their Trinemate with Wingcaptain Sideswiper at point.

The Wingcaptain was oddly wary, projecting a vague Guardian signal most Decepticons probably wouldn't consciously pick up but would react to anyway. Nosedive gave away nothing but nervous tension while Tailspin hung behind his Trinemates as back-up.

But Updraft, calm, collected, composed Updraft, had pulled into himself, radiating guilt and anxiety and fierce protectiveness.

It was the last that worried the Winglord more than the others.

"Well?" He asked/commanded, voice giving away nothing but bored authority.

Updraft fidgeted, wings shifting uneasily as he glance from Starscream to Skywarp and back again.

They was the sound of shifting gears and-

_-that wasn't a-_

_-he couldn't have-_

_-is that a-?_

-a slate of armour shifted to reveal what was recognisably an active Carry-Stage _Velha _Chamber , which opened to reveal the small curled up form of a black and green Seeklet with bright red optics.

The little creature scampered onto his Carrier's servo with surprising dexterity, oddly large wings swivelling in a highly flexible manner as he softly chirped at Starscream uncertainly.

"His name is Skyshadow." Updraft murmured.

Staring down at the cute (and strongly familiar) faceplates of the Seeklet, Starscream, oddly, had a strong urge to violently mangle Skywarp, who had already stalled and crashed to the ground behind his chair.

Apparently he wasn't completely over Updraft after all.

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MWHAHAHAHAHA! Fear the power of the almighty cliffhanger!

And tell me what you think! ;3


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ****I only own Updraft, Tailspin, Nosedive and Sideswiper. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.**

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3. Bart, stop pestering Satan.

**Marge Simpson**

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Skyshadow stared up...and up...and up...

Winglord Starscream was almost bigger than Nosedive, who was the biggest mech the little Seeklet had ever seen.

Starscream was very...pretty to the tentatively emerging Seeker Programming niggling at Skyshadow's processor, but the residual self-image called 'Harry' found the mech fearsome and oddly like...someone...who used to scare, but always protected, him.

An odd ripple went through Skyshadow's energy field, reaching out to tentatively poke Starscream's.

The large red optics of the Seeker stared down at the Seeklet in surprise before softening, the Winglord's own energy field reaching back to nudge the Seeklet's, a buffer between Skyshadow's _young/energy/whimsy/intelligence/watching/curiosity _and Starscream's almost overpowering _force/cunning/determination/domination/protect/aggression/loss/rule_.

Skyshadow paused before squeaking in excitement, perking up and wings flaring, before he bobbed down on his peds and servos, wiggled his hips and launched himself across the gap between Updraft's servo and Starscream's lap.

Perched on the startled mech's lap like an oddly cute metal gargoyle, Skyshadow gave Starscream the cutest Kicked Casseticon Look(TM) he could muster, flicking his wings in what was obviously a demand to be petted.

**(space)**

Starscream laughed at the Seeklet's antics while complying with the little bot's demands, idly scratching at the appropriate sensory panels, inciting gurgling croons that degenerated into mindless purrs.

"Forward little thing, isn't he?" The Winglord murmured. Given how stand-offish and 'Do-NOT-Touch-Me' Updraft was, he could only assume Skyshadow got his tactile nature from Skywarp, one of the most tactile bots Starscream had ever met.

Updraft hummed in agreement, optics not lifting from where they were watching his Seeklet, ready to pounce the moment he detected a threat to the little winglet.

Given how Sideswiper was watching and shifting to get a better look, the Winglord assumed this was the first time he was actually seeing the Seeklet.

Nosedive vented softly when he realised Updraft was too tunnel-focused on his Sparkling to hold a conversation, he began a report of what he knew.

"As far as I am aware, he is a little over two metacycles old, and highly intelligent for a Sparkling even twice his age. He's a little small, but that can't be helped so he won't be a big Seeker. He has the beginnings of a Warp-drive and, as you can see, large, highly flexible wings. We haven't had much opportunity to teach him to fly, so he has only the most rudimentary of knowledge in that regard."

Starscream nodded, waving his servo for Nosedive to continue as Skywarp finally finished rebooting his systems and pulled himself to his peds.

"Aside from the six of us in the room, only two others are actually aware of Skyshadow." Here Nosedive paused, shifted in discomfort and vented. "Lt Commander Soundwave had shown no inclination to turn in either Updraft or Skyshadow, and discreetly provided Sparkling-Grade energon and metal shavings via deliveries through Ravage whilst we were posted at his outpost, going so far as to offer to deal with any repairs he may need."

Starscream had gone rigid when Soundwave was mentioned, but relaxed during the conversation. They had probably not had much, if any, knowledge about Soundwave's model-type, but the Winglord had investigated when it became apparent Soundwave was not like the other Decepticons.

Soundwave was a very, very old model-type, nearly extinct at the beginning of the war, but now there were only three left; Soundwave, Autobot Blaster and an elusive Neutral femme Soundwave had identified as Lowtone. This old variation of the Cassette-Carrier model-genus had strong parental-like coding in regards to their Cassettes as they were made from 'shards' cut off their Sparks, though, occasionally, this coding was applied to the Sparklings of other bots. There was an ancient report done that showed the Sparklings these model-types showed interest in often displayed anomalies in their Spark-patterns that were strongly prevalent in the Spark-patterns of the Cassette-Carrier's model-type.

Starscream subtly scanned the Seeklet in his lap with one of the sensors in his servo as he petted the large black and green wings.

And scanned him again.

Starscream looked at Updraft. "Have you scanned his Spark-patterns?"

Updraft nodded distractedly, not noticing the odd looks the two were getting. "His Spark nearly went out when he disconnected. It stabilised within a few orns, but the odd pattern remained. As far as I can tell, it has done him no harm aside from hastening his growth-rate and energy output. If it continues as it has, he will reach the First Stage of his Youngling Cycle a bit earlier than normal, but otherwise, I can find no problems."

Starscream nodded thoughtfully as he continued watching the Seeklet as he vented heavily, wiggled into the nook between the Winglord's hip and the chair, and fell into recharge.

"I would prefer a more in-depth check-up, if that is alright with you. You might have missed something without the proper equipment."

**(space)**

Skyshadow quite liked Starscream and Thundercracker, and even gruff old Sideswiper, but Skywarp came off as...

...Stupid...

...And immature...

...And insane...

He was just so...stupid. Skyshadow just could not get his small but fast and powerful processor around that fact that at least half of what he was, was based on data from Skywarp. He couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't somebot (ANYbot) that couldn't have been chosen instead.

...At least his very intelligent Carrier wasn't Sparkbound to the moron.

Starscream, on the other servo, would make a very good Sparkmate for Updraft. They were both very smart, experienced, shared the same interests and when he thought no bot was looking, Starscream made what Harry called 'Gaga Eyes' at him.

**(space)**

Thundercracker eyed the cute little Seeklet perched quietly on the berth, little red optics locked onto his Carrier and Thundercracker's Trineleader.

The big Seeker had to repress a premonitional shudder.

The last time he'd seen the look on the little winglet's faceplates was when it was last on Skywarp's own faceplates just before...

Thundercracker's battle-computer instinctively started up and began frantically mapping out escape routes and defendable positions around Nemesis.

**(space)**

Three joors later, Starscream and Updraft wondered how they had ended up welded together at the hip-plates and where, exactly, the cheerfully chirping Skyshadow had gotten his little claws on that kind of acid.

Thundercracker had taken one look at the Seeklet and run off to lock himself in his berth-chamber just before the fiasco started.

Skywarp was on the floor, the next room over, struggling with the very thing metal wire digging into his joints.

Sideswiper, Nosedive and Tailspin were conked out on their recharge-berths, offlined to the world.

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AN. Keep in mind that Skyshadow has been kept secluded with only a few mechs ranging from super-smart to above average around him, and is likely to be hightly critical of anybot he peceives as an interloper. Starscream is the Winglord and so, while he isn't entirely sure what that means, he knows that he'd be an acceptable mate for HIS Carrier.

Review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ****I only own Updraft, Tailspin, Nosedive and Sideswiper. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.**

"I have an intense desire to return to the womb. Anybody's."  
**Woody Allen**

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Skyshadow squeaked, bouncing playfully on all-fours in an attempt to draw Ravage into a game of wrestling.

Appearing to ignore the Seeklet, she crouched staring into space with her single red optic.

Ravage and Ratbat were very different from their 'siblings' in that they had not only a 'shard' from Soundwave's Spark, but also had part of a complete Cybertronian Spark.

Even then, Ravage and Ratbat were different. Ratbat was made out of spite for the mech he used to be, and was permanently trapped in an infantile state.

Ravage, on the other hand, had been a slight, fast Decepti-femme who had attracted Soundwave's attention as she lay dying because of her Spark-pattern before the 'Golden Age' long ended.

She was the reason Soundwave had joined the Decepticons after being Neutral for so long.

Ravage, then named Ravager, had been attacked by a trio of overcharged Elite Guard and was left lying in an alleyway, damaged Spark exposed. She had blacked-out just as she saw Soundwave loom over her.

The Cassetticon had woken in her new four-legged frame beside her greying-out shell as Soundwave disconnected the download cabled from the shell's motherboard. Thereout, Ravage had served the big mech faithfully, regard turning to devotion when he helped her plot and carry out her revenge of the mechs who had used her.

Her residual maternal streak made her prime material for a babysitter.

Her tail twitched slightly, most of her spikes and weapons subtly coated in a rubbery membrane so the Seeklet wouldn't be hurt in play.

Skyshadow slowly reached out a hooked digit and poked the beast-former.

Without warning, the Cassetticon whipped around and pounced on the little mech, who squealed and wrestled free to start a game of 'Find-Me, Chase-Me'.

Soundwave vented softly in amusement as the two smaller Decepticons tussled around his workspace, keeping an optic on them and a vector free in case, as he continued working on the pod-looking machine.

**(space)**

Skyshadow knew something was up by how anxious and troubled the Seekers he'd interacted with were, and his Carrier was distressed.

"Designation; Seeker Skyshadow."

The little mech turned to regard the Communications Officer from where he was curled against his Carrier's side, having his First Youngling Stage growth spurt and chomped his way through enough metal and energon to be comparatively the size of a three-year-old to an adult, whereas before he'd been similar to the size of a cat (a small one (a kitten, really)). As such, he couldn't be taken around the base as much.

In the metacycle he'd been on the Nemesis, every Seeker was sub-routinely aware that the upper echelons of the Seekers were in 'nesting' mode (It wasn't hard for them to figure things out from there), so, with the exception of Soundwave, the Seeker Eyres were off-limits to grounders and non-Seekers.

Starscream hovered behind the shoulder-struts of the big mech.

"Purpose: Accelerated growth pod is complete. Reason: Dangerous for Seeklet in Youngling stage to be present as inquiries will be made. Request: Stasis in growth pod until adult frame is reached. Assurance: Background for adult Seeker Skyshadow has been established."

Skyshadow chirped in question and worry at Starscream, Updraft appearing too upset to be terribly coherent.

"You're too big to fit into the Velha Chamber any more." Starscream began bluntly. "As such, it would be too dangerous to leave you alone or take you about the base as we have until you reach adult form. We deemed such an existence unfair and have sought a means to accelerate your growth for not only your physical safety, but also your mental health. The growth pod Soundwave, Updraft and myself have been working on will accelerate your growth to adult frame within two metacycles with sufficient minerals and energon. By that point we will have set out the groundwork for your adult persona. We will put you into the pod whenever you feel ready, winglet."

Skyshadow and the now not-so-distant Harry-Aspect were staring at Starscream with wide optics and open mouths.

Harry was the first to pull away from the perceived betrayal to look at the issue from 'outside'. And reluctantly agreed it was the best course of action.

Skyshadow wilted and mumble-keened to his Carrier for reassurance.

Updraft sent a Spark-Burst of assurance, love and unhappy resignation as he keened back softly.

**(space)**

He was scared, but it wasn't his own Spark on the line here.

The little Seeklet twitched unhappily and squeaked as the lines tapped his systems and digestive lines.

Soundwave patted his head gently and closed to pod door, inputting the command to start filling the pod with nutrient- and metal-rich suspension-fluid.

Skyshadow twitched and chirped nervously as the dark green, mostly transparent fluid began rising up around him, optics seeking out Updraft and the other Seekers outside the pod.

Updraft reached out and put his servo against the thick glass as the hibernation system recently uploaded into the little Decepticon started up.

Little red optics faded to black and shuttered closed.

Skyshadow came online with a jerk, optics flashing around as he took in the suddenly almost cramped pod.

His servo reached out to the glass but stopped so he could see his new, adult had properly.

His hand was matte black streaked with tiny metallic vein-like lines that were a green so dark they were almost black. They were flexible and the tips were still curved like a kitten's claws.

The Seeker rapped on the glass with the tips, listening to the small light sounds.

A red light flicked on across the room from him and Ravage stood, making her way over to the control panel.

It was then that Skyshadow noticed that, aside from the two Decepticons and the pod, the laboratory looked abandoned...

* * *

It's short because the next chapter will be longer.

No more baby Seeker. He had to grow up for what I have planned.

And thank you everyone for those lovely reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: ****I only own Updraft, Tailspin, Nosedive and Sideswiper. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.**

To answer a question I got, Skyshadow/Harry always had red optics...that are now covered with a visor. As shown with some bots like Frenzy, not all bots have optics the same colour and factionised. Why would someone bother to change something little like their optic colour for the something most won't really care about? Especially if they've had them for longer than people have been missing those cute furry tails and living in trees.

* * *

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.  
**Will Rogers**

* * *

Updraft had been right; Skyshadow was, indeed, a small Seeker.

His black armour had taken on an insect-like green sheen when it hit the light with the inner parts of his under-armour and frame taking on a metallic black veined in a dark metallic green. What parts of his armour that had been a mere generic solid green had also darkened to the same metallic green as the veins in his under-armour.

At some point, Soundwave, Starscream or Updraft must have added specifications to his growth matrix since he was fairly sure he hadn't had wrist blades, a drone-hold/bay or what his programs identified as extensive feature-shifting sequences that had nothing to do with his pre-programmed alternate mode (a flat, arrow-shaped scout craft designed in Crystal City for both functionality and aesthetics, being mostly smooth curves and sharp edges).

Skyshadow's wings were noticeably larger than the average proportions and had seams to shift and bend their large surface to maximise flight flexibility. His long, humanoid legs, optic-visor, streamline body and odd body-shape were explained in a note in his 'inbox' from Soundwave, mentioning that Skyshadow had received his very grounder legs and form from Updraft's co-creator, a Sparked Warrior named Jacknife. As such, his build was just as much Sparked Warrior as Seeker on the outside, but his internals and programming were eighty-seven percent Seeker.

Soundwave explained in lieu of Starscream and Updraft that Seekers would be able to identify him as a Seeker as easily as they would any other, while, due to certain tinkering by the Comm. Specialist, Sparked Warriors would recognise him as mostly them.

In short, his first mission as an adult would be to respond to the Prime's summons as an Autobot sent to a Dead Zone as punishment for 'cruelty towards prisoners of war', and forgotten about as the war escalated and made what he'd 'done' common amongst the Autobot ranks.

Some solitary Autobots had been caught, hacked and released with 'memories' of either him or peripheral knowledge of him without the memories of their capture.

For his personal history, he was Sparked to a Seeker and a Sparked Warrior just before the Seekers joined Megatron, so his Carrier had given him to his Grounder Co-creator to raise in Crystal City, rendering him a Youngling survivor of the Crystal City Massacre, but had kept that aspect of himself hidden from his comrades. He'd snapped upon seeing the Decepticon, having recognised him from the Massacre, resulting in his punishment.

He'd had few bots he'd been close to since the incident and was the only survivor of the outpost (Soundwave had chosen one here there were no survivors)

Ravage had undergone just enough cosmetic reconstruction so as to not be recognised, even though a drone-copy of her had been 'offlined' during his growth-pod period. She would accompany Skyshadow on his mission and act as communication between Skyshadow and Soundwave, while appearing as his battle drone, Catalyst.

Further background included a data-pack of the outpost that he'd been stationed in (who'd been there, their orders, specialities and personality, pass-codes, layout, etc), an in-depth battle-program 'manual' for the battle-computer Updraft had installed in him at some point, a brief explanation on how to use the warp-drive from Skywarp, a a fairly accurate Sparked Warrior behavioural program from Thundercracker and Sideswiper to be able to fit in better, and a bulk program on how to fly and fight from Starscream (jointly compiled with hacked programs made from Autobots (a la Soundwave)and actual experience from Nosedive and Tailspin).

There was also a very emphatic and private end note from the Cassette-Carrier, telling Skyshadow that he was, in no uncertain terms, a very attractive mech and to use his appearance to acquire information.

It took perhaps a joor to download all the information packages, and Skyshadow spent a further two joors fighting with three sparing drones in the next room to ensure he could use the new information in a fight.

The small Seeker installed the guns into his frame,made sure they could be assimilated into his frame, and told Ravage to inform Soundwave he was ready to begin.

**(space)**

In a lab on the Nemesis, Soundwave's red optics flared as he caught the message over the Spark-bond with his Cassette.

The Communications Officer opened a direct link to Starscream.

:_Decepticon Skyshadow ready for commencement of Operation.:_

There was a startled pause before Starscream responded. :_Understood. Thundercracker, Tailspin and Nosedive will be ready in a breem and on their way in two.:_

_:Acknowledged.:_ Soundwave ended the link and sent the message to Ravage.

**(space)**

Skyshadow waited patiently outside the small,secret lab on the other side of the moon from the Nemesis for Thundercracker and his Carrier's Trinemates to enter his sensory field, not really looking forward to the minor damage he would need to sustain to make a convincing injured Autobot.

For that matter, he wasn't really looking forward to getting shot at either...

Feeling his battle-computer start up at the approach of three signals on his radar, Skyshadow took to the air for the first time since he was Harry, speeding off towards the blue,green and brown planet in the 'sky'.

He really didn't like it when the three Seekers close behind him began taking pock shots, even if he did trust them not to hurt him too badly. Ravage had already scuffed, scratched and bent parts of his armour and it hurt a bit...

As if suddenly 'deciding' stealth was a lost cause, Skyshadow sent out the 'incoming-with-unfriendlies-up-my-aft' Autobot signal, picking up speed and dodging cannon blasts, battle-computer running hot and fast with blast trajectories and escape plans.

**(space)**

:_Look at the little mech move!:_ Tailspin squeaked in awe over the private line between the three Seekers.

:_He'd good.:_ Nosedive agreed. :_No bot would think he's so young with moves like that!:_

Thundercracker absently wondered if the other two actually knew how difficult some of those aerobatics actually were at that speed.

And, yes, he was recording the whole thing for Starscream, Updraft and Skywarp to view later.

**(space)**

:_This is Autobot Prowl. State your designation, allegiance and status.:_

_:Skyshadow. Autobot. Currently trying to avoid getting my aft shot off by a Seeker Trine. Will be entering the atmosphere of the third planet from the star in two breems. Current trajectory coordinates 38° __48' __N / __116° __25' __W local measurements. Local designation: Nevada, United States of America.:_

_:Acknowledged. Adjust trajectory to landfall in San Luis Reservoir.:_

_:Acknowledged. Landfall unnecessary. Aerial-type alt. mode. Crystal City SSC2V Scout Type.:_

There was a moment of surprised murmuring in the background before Prowl spoke again.

:_Understood. Proceed to meeting point for assistance. What damage have you sustained?:_

_:Just minor armour damage and scorching so far. A few pierced lines I've shut off and some sensor damage from a sonic boom. Some solar panels may need recalibrating. Delicate motor functions in my left servo are a bit off. Nothing I won't survive without treatment.:_

There was a slightly longer pause with dead silence on the other end before-

_:Autobot Skyshadow, this is CMO Ratchet. I want you in my mobile med-bay as soon as you land.:_

Without meaning too, the Seeker whined over the lines as he absently went into a controlled tailspin through the Earth's atmosphere, increasing coolant flow through his outer armour while dodging a shot from Nosedive. :_Can't I just suffer until the nanites fix it on their own?:_

:_No complaints! That's an order, soldier!:_

The Sparked Warrior behavioural program kicked in, forcing him to acknowledge the superior officer with an old, wordless vocalisation of a Sparked Warrior accepting an order.

There was more surprised silence which he broke this time.

:_Have broken the atmosphere and am approaching meeting point. Seekers still in pursuit. Directions?:_

Prowl returned to the line. :_Try to get the Seekers low enough to the ground for ground support.:_

Skyshadow made the vocalisation again, adjusting to the Earth's gravity and crunching numbers in preparations for a Wronski Feint.

The Autobots were now in sight and the Seekers made a 'last ditch' effort to 'catch up' to the aerial 'Autobot'.

With less than fifty metres to the ground, Skyshadow's shimmering black-green form twisted in the air to fly horizontal to the reservoir, the water streaming up in the air behind him as the Autobots opened fired on the Seekers who had pulled off his tail.

With the Seekers pulling out, Skyshadow pulled himself up and circled around, back to the Autobots.

There were five Autobots on the shoreline with several humans and vehicles.

There were three Sparked Warriors, a Praxan and what appeared to be a medic.

The big black warrior was identified by programming as Weapons Specialist Ironhide, personal bodyguard to Optimus Prime. The red and yellow Warriors were the well-known and feared Twins.

The red and white medic and the grey Praxan were identified as First Aid, a shy member of the Defensor gestalt, and Bluestreak, a sniper and one of the few survivors of Crystal City. If Bluestreak ever found out that Skyshadow was 'from' Crystal City 'as well', he wouldn't be able to pry the bot off him with an reverse-magnetic rod.

Skyshadow circled again and transformed to root form mid-air, landing daintily a small distance from the Autobots.

There were very distinctive suggestive revs from the Twins, and both First Aid and Bluestreak spluttering and heating up.

Ironhide rubbed his face-plates with one servo, muttering about 'fragging younglings'.

* * *

Reviews keep the little Seeker flyin'.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: ****I only own Updraft, Tailspin, Nosedive and Sideswiper. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.**

First, Harry and Skyshadow are like conjoined/twin Sparks, with Harry, while the stronger of the two, taking the backseat while his 'Other Self' grows and developes into his own 'bot. Skyshadow perceives Harry as a murky extension of himself that is still 'separate'. Harry is mostly dormant and 'immersed' in Skyshadow, effectively feeling and being Skyshadow while keeping the Harry-ness out so Skyshadow can evolve on his own.

Second, Skyshadow is able to pass himself off as an immature adult not just because he's intelligent, has Harry and he has been around only adult Seekers and Soundwave, but also because he would be approaching three **metacycles** old, and I am working under the idea that a **metacycle** is between 11 and 13 human years, so he is actually older than Harry was when he died by this point. It is around **2025** in this timeline.

Skyshadow is able to pull off 'adult' like some drunk people can pull off 'sober'. It works, but only for a little while... And he is gonna come off as really affection-needy later in the story.

Despite how much I like the Twins and Jazz (who is alive in this story) and some of the other 'bots, I know who I am pairing him with and will not budge.

Skyshadow perceives himself as a Seeker. Seekers are loyal to Seekers and loved ones just like most races are most loyal to their family unit and clans/countries before 'outsiders'.

Sorry this one is kinda short.

A **Breem **is about 8.5 minutes.

For further information on Transformers, I suggest **Teletraan 1 Wiki.**

* * *

Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.  
**John F. Kennedy**

* * *

Ironhide reminded Skyshadow of Sideswiper without the hyper-awareness of the flighty Seeker programming. Ironhide was almost mellow in comparison.

And, after the initial meet and greet with the Twins, Bluestreak and First Aid, his designated mech-shield.

The Seeker tried to be subtle about keeping the big black mech between him and the Twins while he assimilated the data pack he was given, but after the seventh time he dodged a 'subtle' attempt at a grope, he swung around and hissed, flared his wings and rattling his armour...

…In a manner that was distinctly Seeker-ish...

...Which set off the Twin's battle programs, switching Skyshadow's status from potential berth-mate to enemy Seeker.

And Skyshadow got a first-class seat to a senior Sparked Warrior smacking down and reaming out two subordinate Warriors. Skyshadow was surprised to learn several new insults he hadn't heard before in the Seeker Eyries.

A sharp look from Ironhide was all the reprimand Skyshadow got as his hiss-and-armour-rattle was not only provoked but also only lasted a click before he fell into an agitated but unaggressive posture.

There were some odd, bubbly, wet sounds around their ped-joints.

Looking down, the Seeker squeaked at the small squishy things, suddenly on the verge of panicking and he lifted his wings and looked around frantically as more suddenly appeared. Harry-Aspect laughed at him from the back of his processors.

"What do I do?" Skyshadow looked around a little frantically, wings lifting so he could see the ground better.

Ironhide vented in a very put upon manner. "Treat 'em like ya would minibots. They have very distinct bio-electric patterns you'll learn ta recognise very quickly. After a while, you'll even be able ta identify familiar humans."

One of Skyshadow's helm sensor-spikes tilted in a manner similar to a human's raised eyebrow. "Yeah. Problem." Was his drawled response. "I was Sparked not long before the unrest began and I don't believe I have ever actually seen a minibot."

Ironhide paused. "Ah. Then you'll likely be on a steep learnin' curve. I'll let Prahm know."

Then he turned, crouched and spoke to some of the humans.

With that obvious dismissal, Skyshadow, very carefully mind, wandered over to First Aid for a field check-up.

**(space)**

Skyshadow, in his alt. mode, was tied and tarped to the back of a human vehicle, and he was Not Happy.

Apparently he'd taken more damage than he'd thought, damaging the sensors in his right shoulder struts and the gauges in his Energon and coolant tanks, which had pinhole leaks from the tips of Ravage's claws (for which she apologised).

Ravage, under the designation 'Catalyst', was also detected by the medic First Aid and deployed to be scanned for damage.

Her sinuous form had been streamlined and enlarged slightly to alter her shape away from the one Soundwave had given her, her hind legs not quite as bandy, her optic larger and containing a cover that changed the red to violet, a ridge of spines down her back and two large piercing claws on the insides of her front peds.

His excuse for her not being damaged was that she hadn't been necessary for the battle as he'd only caught the tail-end of the fight, having been out on patrol when the call came through. His partner had rushed in and gotten offlined while he'd hung back and sniped as best he could before the base was blown up, leaving no survivors.

He probably could have put up with the humans crawling all over him, and the tarp hiding him from the rest of the world, but not being able to see while the wind whistled past him was playing merry hell on his flyer instincts.

Skyshadow dismissed the slight readings in his sensitive communications systems as white noise.

**(space)**

Updraft crooned his approval and preened at having carried such an excellent, world-shaking flyer.

Starscream was very impressed and made a note to have Skyshadow go through the Heir Trials for the Winglord title. He world be a good Winglord; better than Starscream himself, if he was honest about it.

If only he wasn't so small...

Skywarp couldn't help a sort of sad fondness for the little Seeker he'd helped Spark, but also knew said little Seeker thought him an unacceptable mate for Updraft. Not that Skywarp disagreed.

The black Seeker glanced at the Seeker crooning over the recording of their Seeklet's first real flight and couldn't help but notice how close Starscream was to his fellow scientist.

Skywarp knew the two had a past, even that their respective Carriers were Trinemates, but Skywarp and Thundercracker had already been Trinemates and were looking for a third to replace Mirrorwing when they met Starscream, who had just lost his first Trinemates early into the war, long before he had become Winglord.

Three Winglords had fallen since the war began (Stormfront, Eventhorizon and Windblade), but Starscream had lasted by far the longest.

Thundercracker and Skywarp hadn't known what it was that drew them to the quiet Seeker mourning his loss in the hanger, but they hadn't regretted approaching him and inviting him to fly with them.

Now knowing Starscream as he did, Skywarp believed the two scientists would be good for one another, even if they never Bonded.

**(space)**

Deep under the Arctic ice, where the light barely reached, a small signal falteringly struggled out a small crevice after millions of years of dark, cold silence.

* * *

Fly, Little Seeker, Fly!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: ****I only own Updraft, Tailspin, Nosedive and Sideswiper. Everything else belongs to their respective creators.**

**Definitions:**

**Trinemate: **_Seekers move in a 'Trine', or flight group of three. A trinemate in a member of a trine and is like a mix of wingmate and sibling. The seeker Trines are usually related in some way, but not always._

**Sparked Warrior: **_Naturally aggressive Cybertronians literaly 'sparked' to be warriors and fighters. Usually aggressive and the Grounder equivilent of Seekers. My creation, but I have read some similar things._

**Grounder:** _Flier slang for non-fliers. Often derogative._

Sorry its's ben a while, but I kind of lost my way for a bit there. It's pretty short but I should have the next chapter up soon.

* * *

Angels, pixies, faerie dust  
Treading love and living lust.  
**~Jaesse Tyler**

* * *

In addition to the five Autobots who had accompanied him to a small human base about a quarter-joor from the landing point, Skyshadow could sense an additional three Spark signatures outside the 'tarp' covering him.

One he knew from the grumbling to be the Autobot CMO, Ratchet, the second he identified as Autobot Tactition and SIC, Prowl, and the third was of a similar signature to Soundwave, leading Skyshadow to believe the bot was the Cassette-Carrier Blaster.

As soon as the tarp was off and the chains gone, the Seeker transformed while still on the truck bed, ending up straddling the trailer and looking around.

Ratchet was of slightly above middle-weight size, compact and in shades of lemon and lime (which sent Harry-aspect off into cackles about something called 'qwiditch' and a Team called the Gabriel Ratchets (who were, apparently, uniformed in lemon and lime). Harry-aspect was so weird sometimes.)

Blaster, being of the same model-type as Soundwave, was quite tall, probably in the lower heavy-weights, and slim, having forgone the bulkier armour favoured by Soundwave. He was very eye-catching in primary-colour red and blue, his vectors pulled in close to the chassis and camouflaged between armour plating.

With the third bot, Skyshadow initially mistook SIC Prowl for a military aerial bot of some kind with the wings and some impressive spikes, before realising he was actually a Praxian with large sensory wing panels. The spikes were uniform to an Enforcer Officer from Praxis, Skyshadow's recognition programming put forward belatedly.

Somewhere deep in Skyshadow's processor, a program switched on and conferred with his Spark a moment, before the two came to an agreement reminiscent of a pair of Warner Brothers with a sister named Dot.

'_Hel-looh, French Nurse!'_

Harry-aspect noticed this little program, which had begun to rapidly affect the other programs around it, but, oddly enough, Skyshadow didn't.

Harry-aspect made a note to keep an optic on the program, but ultimately decided to leave it alone. It likely started for a reason.

To most Cybertronians, Prowl was really quite plain, though intimidating, in appearance, made for function rather than aesthetics. Even amongst the other Enforcers, Prowl had always been nothing special in the looks department. However, it was a closely guarded and guilty secret that Seekers found the seemingly bland Praxian Enforcer models incredibly, distractingly, fly-into-a-wall attractive. Most especially the officers with their rising spikes of office...

Two clicks after he lay optics on the Autobot SIC, Skyshadow's cooling fans kicked into high gear with a loud squeal, causing the little Seeker to cringe in mortification.

Picking up on the new arrival's apparent distress and seemingly dangerously spontaneous over-heating, Ratchet burst into movement, dragging the new bot into the warehouse-turned-medbay before anybot could get so much as a 'hello' out.

A few moments later, a certain Sparked Warrior realised what had probably happened to the little Seeker/Sparked Warrior hybrid and fell over laughing, more entertained than he had been for vorns.

**(space)**

Skyshadow kept twitching in discomfort as Ratchet gently welded together a few gashes in his left wing after recalibrating the solar panels there, the last set of repairs he had to fix.

The pair of radio receivers on his audio receptors twitched periodically as the white noise and distorted beeping continued to ping on his sensitive systems in a most irritating manner, even Ravage was shifting in annoyed confusion.

Deciding that enough was enough, Skyshadow just turned off his long-range communication receivers. If the noise was still there later, he would come back and have his filters upgraded.

"Well," The medic began. "I can't find anything that might have set off your cooling systems, but everything else seems to be it order. If you have any more issues with your fans, come back immediately. Understood?"

Skyshadow nodded distractedly, listening to the Harry aspect urging him to mention the glitch in his communication systems.

The Seeker vented in a manner he had picked up from his other half. And gave in.

"Sir?" Skyshadow called the attention of the Medical Officer back to himself. When the Officer looked over in question, Skyshadow continued. "Since I passed the planet's satellite, I have been receiving odd sounds amongst the white noise of my long-range communication. They sound deliberate."

Ratchet hummed, blue optics narrowing slightly, before moving back to the Seeker. "Let's see then."

Skyshadow tilted his helm to the side to grant the medic better access to his communications port and switched on his long-range communications.

The sounds were still there. A steady, repetitive series of clicks and beeps.

He felt Ratchet listen for a few clicks before the medic started swearing and commed Blaster and Prowl while still connected, allowing the Seeker, and thus Ravage, to eavesdrop.

:_Both of you to the me-bay immediately. We may have a situation. And for frag's sake, turn on your long-range communications!__ The youngling's been receiving a peace-time distress signal since he passed the slagging_ _moon!:_

**(space)**

Soundwave paused momentarily in his work as he received Ravage's early report.

He paused his work and jacked into a communications amplifier.

As he registered the signal, all he could think was a surprised and embarressede '_...huh.'_

**(space)**

A large dark shape deep under the ice continued, desperately, hopelessly sending out his distress signal, trying to ignore how much time had passed since he'd been trapped.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed and even those who haven't reviewed. Ya'll're much appreciated.


End file.
